-(으)ㄹ 나위가 없다
there is no room for; beyond question
Says a thing needs no further comment. 나위 means room or scope, and the phrase survives almost entirely in two set expressions.
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When to use it
Attachment is the standard rule with the ㄹ short form. 나위 is a noun and takes a space, and the 가 is often dropped or replaced by 도.
Two expressions account for nearly all use. 말할 나위도 없다 means it goes without saying. 더할 나위 없다 means nothing could be added — that is, it is perfect.
The second is worth noting because it is praise, not complaint: 더할 나위 없이 좋았어요 means it could not have been better.
Outside these frames the construction is rare, so treating it as a pair of idioms is the practical approach.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Goes without saying | 말할 나위도 없다 | 말할 나위도 없다 |
| Could not be better | 더할 나위 없다 | 더할 나위 없다 |
| As an adverb | 더할 나위 없이 | 더할 나위 없이 좋았어요 |
| Ends in a vowel | -ㄹ 나위가 없다 | 의심하다 → 의심할 나위가 없다 |
| Spacing | 나위 is a noun | 말할 나위도 없다 |
| Register | formal, idiomatic | mostly these two frames |
In use
그의 실력은 말할 나위도 없이 뛰어납니다.
His ability is outstanding, needless to say.
건강이 중요하다는 것은 말할 나위가 없다.
That health matters goes without saying.
날씨도 좋고 더할 나위 없는 하루였어요.
Fine weather too — it was a perfect day.
서비스가 더할 나위 없이 훌륭했습니다.
The service could not have been better.
직접 만든 것이니 정성은 말할 나위도 없지요.
It’s handmade, so the care that went into it goes without saying.
이보다 더할 나위 없는 조건입니다.
You couldn’t ask for better terms than these.
Compared with
-(으)ㄹ 리가 없다
리가 없다 denies a possibility; 나위가 없다 denies the need to discuss it. One rejects, the other closes the subject.
그럴 리가 없어요. (impossible) / 말할 나위도 없어요. (needless to say)
-(으)ㅁ에 틀림없다
틀림없다 asserts certainty from evidence; 말할 나위도 없다 treats the point as too obvious to argue.
사실임에 틀림없다. (certainly true) / 말할 나위도 없다. (obviously)
더할 나위 없다
The praise frame is the one most worth memorising, especially as the adverb 더할 나위 없이 before an adjective.
더할 나위 없는 하루 / 더할 나위 없이 좋았어요
Watch out
서비스가 더할 나위 없이 나빴어요.
서비스가 더할 나위 없이 훌륭했어요.
더할 나위 없다 means nothing could be added — it is praise. Pairing it with a negative reverses the sense.
건강이 중요하다는 것은 말할나위가 없다.
건강이 중요하다는 것은 말할 나위가 없다.
나위 is a noun and takes a space after the modifier.
야, 그거 말할 나위도 없어.
야, 그거 말할 것도 없어.
The phrase is formal. In casual speech, 말할 것도 없다 is the everyday equivalent.
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